USB stick encryption that works on every computer?

I have a Datatraveler USB memory stick with sensitive information. I often carry it with myself, and I use it on both my own computer (with Ubuntu 12.04) and public computers with various versions of Windows. I need to encrypt the data, but it appears that the encryption program always needs to be installed on the machine in order for me to be able to access the data.

Is there a way to encrypt data on Ubuntu 12.04, so that I can use my USB memory on public Windows computers that do not have the relevant encryption program installed?

Re: USB stick encryption that works on every computer?

Originally Posted by paranat

I have a Datatraveler USB memory stick with sensitive information. I often carry it with myself, and I use it on both my own computer (with Ubuntu 12.04) and public computers with various versions of Windows. I need to encrypt the data, but it appears that the encryption program always needs to be installed on the machine in order for me to be able to access the data.

Is there a way to encrypt data on Ubuntu 12.04, so that I can use my USB memory on public Windows computers that do not have the relevant encryption program installed?

Wont it be wiser to encrypt only sensitive files , instead of the whole usb partition .You can use GPG or anything to encrypt your files .

Re: USB stick encryption that works on every computer?

The best way is to use TrueCrypt...get it from their site. This puts an encrypted container on the USB that you move all info into. Because it's cross-platform, it will work on any computer with TrueCrypt installed or it's also portable and can be just on the stick.

which has the ability to enter the password on windows, linnux, mac even without the need of special communication software on the host computer

The use of any software solution is either possible only on dedicated hardware (controller of the stick) or need additional software to be able to use it properly and this software needs to be installed on the host and will therefore need admin rights to do so.

Truecrypt without the installed driver software on the host is not much comfortable then any zip with encryption. The zip software can be placed however on the stick itself, the key is then just the passphrase.

The is no universal software solution and probably will never be as one has allways to find a way to enter the password to the usb stick somehow.

Re: USB stick encryption that works on every computer?

Check out MySecret, I've used it extensively with WindwsXP but don't know if it works with Vista or 7.

The Linux version works well with Ubuntu 32-bit, but if you want to use 64-but you may have to install ia32-libs.

Bad idea. For one, it is not open-source nor GPL. For two, it uses Blowfish when it could be using AES (this implies the software hasn't been updated in a while). And three, it does nothing GnuPG cannot do and GnuPG is already included in Ubuntu.

Re: USB stick encryption that works on every computer?

Also a bad idea. These hardware solutions cannot be trusted. They have a track record of being rather poor. So poor in fact that someone should have lost their job.

well this what is described here has not much to do with the real hardware encryption I mentioned.
There is lot of devices around which employ the encryption done by the firmware of the controller, but the whole key process is done externally.
I do not consider this as hardware encryption.
This was the problem with U3 devices for example. Encryption seemed OK first, but it came out that attacks were too simple on the communication between the stick and the keyboard of the computer and so finaly it became too simple to get onto the so called encrypted contents.

So simple devices will use some form of local entry, like my padlock2 or have such complex communication set up that so far no attacks are known at the current level of knowledge and technology.
But when comparing 10$ to 300$, well there must not be, but might be some difference.

BTW: also padlock2 has some flaw. OK it was cleared by now, but was discovered some 6 months after launching the product. Meanwhile one has to initiate the password twice and then all is fine again.

There are similar devices with integrated finger sensor too.

There used to be some nice 3DES hardware encrypted external hard drives on the market. Yes it was 3DES, but unfortunately every time the same start vector. Finding this out is probably not so big effort.

So yes I agree, not everything called hardware encryption is worth it.

But as there is no and will be no universal software solution, some hardware solution might be only alternative.